Stories of Spitfires, Vulcans Concorde, a Christmas tree and Olympic skiers are just a few of the mind-blowing secrets of the wind tunnel tests

Standing before the giant fan with its six huge mahogany blades, I can only imagine the deafening noise it would make as it whirred into life.

Sucking in air, the massive turbine would blast it down a 400ft hangar at hundreds of miles per hour – as scientists with clipboards and pencil stubs made complex calculations and scrutinised the plane wings or jet parts suspended in the gusts.

The howling wind would have drowned out any shouts of delight at their eureka moments – and there were many of them – breakthroughs that shaped British aviation and changed the course of history.

I am inside one of two secret wind tunnels at Farnborough airfield in Hampshire, where the country’s greatest aeronautical engineers built and tested generations of aircraft from First World War biplanes through the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Second World War to the Vulcan bomber and supersonic Concorde.

In recent years the tunnels have been used to wind-test many other things including Formula 1 cars, Rolls-Royces and Aston Martins as well as bridges, buildings, parachutes, helicopter rotors, pilotless drones, Post Office telegraph wires and even trees.

The Forestry Commission wanted to know how to plant new woods and once asked how windy it would have to be for a Christmas tree earmarked for Trafalgar Square to blow over. They’ve even tested people – the drag of Olympic skiers and the bobsleighs of the RAF team.

The former Royal Aircraft Establishment was where flying took off and soared to unimaginable heights. Beginning life as the Army Balloon Factory in 1890, Farnborough built the first British airship, the Nulli Secundus, in 1907.

The following year swashbuckling pioneer Samuel Cody made the first powered flight in the country in Army Aeroplane No 1.

In 1916 the first wind tunnel was built to test the fighters which took on the Red Baron and his German comrades and in 1935 the second tested planes that defeated Hitler’s Luftwaffe.

Incredibly these historic buildings – as important in their way as the Jodrell Bank radio telescope and Bletchley Park code-breaking station – were almost demolished in 1994 when the Ministry of Defence sold off part of the airfield.

A pressure group called the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust, backed by Prince Charles, managed to get the buildings listed and saved for the nation, along with an unique collection of artefacts now housed in the FAST Museum.

But the tunnels – codenamed Q121 and R52 – have not been open to the public until now.

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Man with a plan: Engineer Sir Frank Whittle, who patented the basic design for the turbojet engine

After a century of secrecy, plane enthusiasts will be able to walk, as I did, through these deserted buildings and feel the ghosts of the geniuses who revolutionised the skies.

Like inventor Sir Frank Whittle, who developed Britain’s first jet engine, the Gloster Whittle, Hugh Metcalfe who developed our longest serving surface to air missiles, Lewis “Nick” Nicholson who pioneered supersonic aerodynamics and Tommy Somerville whose parachute release systems were vital to the glider landings of D-Day.

But despite the huge scientific and military significance of the wind tunnels it took the vision of a young female artist to give the public a chance to visit them.

Tatiana Ojjeh, founder of Artliner, visited the site in 2012 and was blown away (no pun intended) by the history of the tunnels. She persuaded the local council and site owners to let her use them for an arts project to tie in with the annual Farnborough Air Show.

a Local schools are also using the space for historic and creative projects this month and next.

Tatiana says: “The history of the land, and its significance in British aviation, was something I was eager to learn more about.

Vintage: A Concorde model aircraft from 1963

“Walking through the site you are touched by the spirit that produced some of the greatest developments in aeronautical engineering.

“We have been able to shine a light on the past while creating a place of inspiration and innovation for future generations.”

The Wind Tunnel Project, which runs until July 20, features a sound installation highlighting the acoustics of the unique buildings, and a piece called Rainbow Plane by artist James Bridle, whose grandfather worked in the tunnels.

Trust chairman Richard Gardner says: “The work done here was extraordinary – but a lot of it was hard slog, repeating the same tests – trial and error. And sometimes it was real boffin stuff, a scientist coming up with an idea and giving it a go, no matter how strange it seemed.”

In the 1950s one scientist, W E Gray, and his team could be found throwing paper planes around by hand. They developed into models made from papier mache and sticky tape with different shaped wings – which were tested for drag and stability in the 24ft tunnel.

Gray’s work led to the iconic wings of Concorde – the world’s most successful supersonic commercial aircraft.

Staring up at the 600kg blades of the massive turbine I’m mightily relieved it’s not about to burst into life. But visiting these incredible buildings has been a real blast. You could say I’m a huge fan too.